spared?

We had a terrible storm tonight. It was a beautiful afternoon, and then it started to sprinkle. Within moments of the first drops, the storm blew in over head and just sat on our neighborhood. It was like something from a movie. The lightning was constant, and the thunder was simultaneous with the flashes. Actually, it was more like the lightning was the norm, but it was just flickering off like the sky's electricity was about to go out. Artillary fire, or the finale of an awesome fireworks display. I don't think I've ever been directly under an electrical storm like that before. It was terrifying. The severe storm warning expired at 8:15p, but the flashes and rumblings have been constant for the past 6 hours.
When it subsided a bit, and we felt like we could move about the house, Allison called down from upstairs, that she could smell smoke in Jack's room. I came up and went into the attic to look. The smell was strong up there, but I couldn't see anything wrong. I was worried that something might be burning in the walls, and was ready to call the fire department, so I went outside to see if I could see smoke. There was nothing coming from my house, but as the low black clouds raced across the sky, I could see billows of black smoke rising from up the street. I walked up a couple blocks before I saw other people hurrying around. It was another 15 minutes before the firemen arrived. They kept arriving for the next half hour. Two houses burned in our neighborhood.
I stood in the street in front of my house with neighbors until the smoke began to thin. It seems that everyone in the neighborhood had gone into their attics to check for fire when they smelled the smoke. We stood out there thinking of our own panic at the smell. The relief at not finding it in our own attics. No relief for those other families.
Our sympathy and prayers are with them.